Grand Rapids Griffins win shootout in exhibition against Lake Erie

Grand Rapids Griffins goalie Tom McCollum turned in a sturdy performance as Grand Rapids defeated the Lake Erie Monsters in a shootout on Saturday during an exhibition at Compuware Sports Arena in Plymouth, Mich.

After a scoreless overtime, Grand Rapids outscored the Monsters 1-0 in a shootout to secure a 3-2 win.

After four unsuccessful attempts, the Griffins' Martin Frk got the winning goal in the shootout. McCollum then stopped the last attempt by the Monsters.

The two teams meet again Sunday in Windsor, Ontario. The Griffins' regular season begins Friday, Oct. 4, at Rochester.

Lake Erie opened the scoring late in the first period, despite a distinct shot advantage (15-7) for Grand Rapids.

With 18:11 remaining in the first, Andrej Nestrasil provided Lake Erie with a power play opportunity after being called for hooking. The Monsters capitalized when defenseman Gabriel Beaupre fired a shot from the blue line that wound its way through traffic and past McCollum's glove.

The Monsters carried their 1-0 lead into the second period until exactly five minutes in when Griffins center David McIntyre fed a low pass to Frk, who quickly buried the puck past Monsters netminder Kieran Millan. With 9:09 remaining in the second and the score tied at one, Lake Erie shifted gears between the pipes when they swapped Millan with goaltender Kent Patterson.

Marek Tvrdon gave the Griffins the lead at 3:51 of the third period, wristing the puck top-shelf in the right corner, unassisted.

Later in the period, defenseman Brennan Evans’ elbow found its way to the face of a Lake Erie defender just outside of the play. Monsters left wing Vincent Arseneau responded by rushing to center ice where the two exchanged battled.

Just over a minute into their power play, Lake Erie center Mitchell Heard scored at 15:59 to tie it at 2-2.

McCollum earned the victory with 36 saves, stopping all five of the Monsters' shootout attempts. Lake Erie’s Millan and Patterson both prevented 18 of 19 shots between their split time in the net.